When the 2025 PSAC football schedule was created a few years ago, few could have predicted how fitting Edinboro’s visit to IUP (3-1 overall, 1-0 PSAC West) on Saturday would be. The matchup lands squarely on IUP’s homecoming weekend, adding a layer of significance for three members of the visiting Fighting Scots.
Edinboro’s first-year head coach, Matt Scott, is an IUP graduate, returning to the field where he once played. Joining him are quarterback Nico Marchitelli and defensive back Devin Barren—both recent IUP players now suiting up for the Fighting Scots (2-2, 1-0) after going there via the transfer portal.
For Scott, this game is more than just a divisional clash. It’s a homecoming in every sense of the word.
“(But) I’ll try to save the nostalgia for later,” Scott said. “It makes it a little easier to focus on the job.”
Scott, who was a starting defensive lineman at IUP from 2004 to 2007, came to Edinboro in January after serving as New Haven’s defensive coordinator for eight years. He took over for former IUP assistant Jake Nulph, who resigned to become Kiski Area High School’s director of athletics.
“I’m happy for Matt that he got that job,” said IUP head coach Paul Tortorella, who was the Crimson Hawks’ defensive coordinator from 1995 to 2016 and worked closely with Scott when he was on the team. “That’s a good hire for them, and I’m glad he’s back home in the PSAC.”
Tortorella said he knew when Scott was a young player that coaching might be in the West Allegheny graduate’s future. And when Scott stayed around as a graduate assistant for the 2008 season, it became clear to Tortorella that Scott was a rising star in the business.
“I think we all knew it,” he said. “That year he was here as a (graduate assistant) probably helped him a lot. It usually does for young coaches. At the end of that year, you either know you want to stay in this or you know you want out. He wanted to stay in it, and he’s done a great job everywhere he’s gone.”
As a player, Tortorella remembers Scott as someone who maximized his ability.
“He overachieved,” Tortorella said. “Now, when I say that, I don’t mean that he wasn’t talented, because he was. But he was so smart and such a student of the game that he made himself better, and he got the most out of his talent. He wasn’t the biggest guy. We had him at defensive end, but we had to move him inside a few times, and he was smart enough to figure out how to adjust to that. He was just a really smart kid.”
Marchitelli, who has family ties to Saltsburg, spent three years at IUP as a backup quarterback, first behind Mak Sexton in 2022, and then Karst Hunter the last two seasons. In 2023 and 2024, he started a handful of games when Hunter was injured.
But when IUP landed former Boston College quarterback Matthew Rueve in the transfer portal this winter, Marchitelli saw the handwriting on the wall and he chose to transfer to Edinboro. He has started all four of the Fighting Scots’ games this season, and he has completed 76 of 128 attempts for 812 yards, five touchdowns, and three interceptions.
“We had a couple guys we’d been talking to—D1 guys people were excited about—but they were scout team QBs or backups to backups,” Scott said. “I’ve always believed in finding guys who’ve actually played. With Nico’s experience—and with (Tortorella) and (assistant coach) Declan (Peer) having nothing but great things to say about him, it was a no-brainer for us to take him.”
Tortorella said he sees good things and bad things about playing a quarterback he knows so well.
“The good thing for us is that we know what he’s good at and what he has trouble with,” Tortorella said. “The bad thing is that he knows our defense so well that we won’t be able to fool him.”
Edinboro has played the toughest schedule in the PSAC so far this season. The Fighting Scots opened with an upset on the road of East Stroudsburg, the preseason No. 2 team in the Eastern Division, before losing at home to Kutztown, the East favorite and current first-place team. Edinboro then lost to Bloomsburg, a team that’s 1-3 but is seven points away from being 4-0, and then last week handed Clarion its first loss of the season, 21-20.
“The good thing is you don’t have to wait until late in the year to play in big games,” Scott said. “I looked at the schedule when I got here, and I knew that they’re not going to ease you in.”
The Crimson Hawks have won three in a row after losing their season opener to Ashland.
“They’re doing a great job schematically,” Scott said. “You’re seeing the impact Coach (offensive coordinator Frank) Cignetti is having on the offense. They’re finding ways to get the ball into (Devin) Whitlock’s and (Maurice) Massey’s hands. When you look at rushing yards, you’ve got to factor in perimeter screens and jet sweeps. We’ll have our hands full. Their execution against Seton Hill was flawless.”
Having to face such a potent IUP offense might be a good thing to distract Scott from getting too nostalgic for his days at IUP. But he will always feel appreciative for the time he spent here, and for the people he met.
“Throughout my playing career, I’ve been blessed to work for and play for legendary coaches,” Scott said. “Guys like Frank Cignetti, and Lou Tepper, and Tort, and Chuck Gironda, and Bernie McQuown. Being around those guys taught me what coaching is really about. They had a big impact on me, especially in how to carry yourself. I’m just very thankful for that.”
Scott had special praise for Tortorella, who taught him a lot about playing football –– and coaching it.
“Tort’s always been someone I can call,” he said. “It might be a while between calls, but we pick up right where we left off. Anything I need, I know I can reach out and he’ll shoot me straight and give great advice.”
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